My Intro...

Hello all. I'm basically here because I wish to become a full-fledged expert on the subject of WW2. I want to have an understanding of everything, from what led up to the Nazi attitude toward the Jews and expansion, to the geography, battles, and weapons used, names, dates, the whole lot. Having said this, I have a few questions. My knowledge of the subject is highly limited, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to learn this stuff from the ground up.

Firstly, how important is it that I have pre-existing knowledge about WW1 and the state of Germany prior to Hitler's ascension to Chancellor. Should I not even bother with WW2 until I accomplish this? If I were do that would I be able to get a good foothold on WW1 without delving further back on the timeline to another deep subject?

Second, would it be wiser to cover the war one theatre at a time or study the Euro and Pacific theatres concurrently?

How much focus on the subject of wartime technology, weaponry, and tactics should I put in?

I'm basically looking for some sort of comprehensive order with regard to what I should be studying...with the goal in mind of becoming an "expert" on the subject.

Lastly. what would be some "must read" texts on the subject to further this agenda?

I'm a 3rd year college English major considering a double-major in History with the plan of pursuing post-grad studies in this field.

Any help from you experts would be greatly appreciated.

 

First, Welcome.

I am far from an expert, but you are going in the right direction by being on this site, there are experts here.

For what they are worth here are my opinions:
1. I don’t think it is crucial to have a great knowledge of WWI, general knowledge should suffice but I believe you should know how Hitler and the Japanese Military came to power and why.
2. Educate yourself on the war as a whole, in broad terms, first - then study theaters individually. As you learn about the war you will guide youself to area’s that interest you.
3. Strategy dictates tactics - Hitler invading Russia; Roosevelt’s decision to fight Germany first; not invading France until we (the Allies) were ready, despite pressure from Stalin; why Japan was so successful in the first year - and how that contributed to their eventual defeat; etc. Weapons were generally developed, using technology, to support strategy and tactics.
4. The minutia of the war can overwhelm a person - get a basic knowledge of the politics involved, everything (almost) was a result of politics.
5. There are far to many “must reads” to list, start with some simple, general history’s and go where your curiosity leads you.

Question everything you read, almost all authors have an agenda. Until recently most western history's did not give the Eastern Front the attention it warrents and certainly didn’t give the Soviet’s the credit they deserves.

I’ve been moving my library for many years (I am a retired Army Intel. Analysis - information and data were essential). You are fortunate that you have the internet, use it - “Google” any and every thing and don’t settle for just one answer or opinion. There are many web sites on WWII and on all them “experts” argue their views, read all you can and ask questions. Someone will have an answer.

 

howdy, welcome to the forum,to be honest there are no hard and fast rules about what areas you study or how you do it, i would just say take a general look at the war, then as you find subjects that you like,branch off into them. to be honest two books that i like and look at almost every day are The Oxford Companion to World War II, gen.ed. I.C.B. Foot and World War II Day by Day an Illustrated Almanac 1939-1945 by Donald Sommerville

 

Good intro there grasshopper, but I think that you should start with what interests you the most, and build on it from there. Once you get that figured out, all you have to do is put it in gear and roll with it. It all ties together once you get a good feeling for it though. Plenty of material is stashed away on this fine forum to expand your knowledge on, and all of it is only a double-click away. Stay with us awhile and you just might have fun and learn something at the same time. Here's a salute to get you started with. With that intro, we expect to start seeing some good posts real quick-like.

And welcome to the forum friend.

 

I'll followsuit. WELCOME, dampking!

Some specific items worth purchasing (at very reasonable cost for used ones) to initiate your reading/reference development are:

Very general, yet valuable for an historical perspective on warfare, tactics, and weaponry:
http://www.amazon.com/Harper-Encyclopedia-Military-History-Present/dp/0062700561

A bit more specific:
The many books by Trevor N. Dupuy (particularly Vol. 18 - Chronological SurveyOf World War II; for general reference on timelines)
TrevorN. Dupuy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For visuals, 39 books from the Time-Life Series:
http://www.amazon.com/World-War-II-39-Set/dp/B000MC7H4I

Greater detail on areas you find of interest (154 books):
eBay.ie Guides - Ballantine's Illustrated History of World WarII

(Yes. I once had them all. If you acquire many, if not all, of the above sets of books, read them, and let them take you to areas of further interest to you, then you can become a real whiz at SOMETHING related to WW2. Best of luck to you!!!)

 

i have agree with col fog the time life set is really good for a basic start. the ballantine set is great as well

 

I can only add my agreement with most of what has been said. First, get a broad overview of the subject. Gain a general understanding of the overall subject, that being World War II. You can't become an expert in everything about such a broad subject. Then pick an area on which to focus your studies. And, as others have said, read, read and read some more. Watching movies, TV shows or videos may be entertaining, but they cannot match the knowledge you will gain from reading good books on the subject. As for discerning which books are "good", there are threads on the forum where members offer their recommendations. Also, when you find a good book, check their bibliography for additional reading suggestions.

 

G'day and welcome to the forum

 

Looks like we loaded a bunch of reading assignments on the rookie and scared him off. Either that or he got lost in the library. Man that Dewey Decimal System is tough!

 

No, not scared off just yet. Some really great suggestions though. I can tell there's a lot of people here who know their stuff. What I'm starting with is a book I bought as well as two which were given to me.

These are:
The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich by William Shirer (bought to start with)
Hitler's Willing Executioners - Ordinary Germans and The Holocaust by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen (given)
Endgame, 1945 - The Missing Final Chapter of WWII by David Stafford (given)

Any thoughts on these?

 

william shirer is a good place to start but i allways thought he was a little too dry and droned on. but thats just me. havent seen the other 2 books yet.

 

When you get to the PTO, start with the 1941-42 Philippine Campaign, the Flying Tigers, Merrill's Marauders, and the Guadalcanal Campaign for background. That'll keep you busy for quite some time.

 

yeah, if he did it right, maybe a year,lol. just kidding

 

Yeah and for downtime, try on a little Battle of Coral Sea and Midway to keep things fair and balanced.

 

Kid, you are onto the right things...
However, I agree with gunbunny in that Shirer is... in a word... BORING!
Though it's a classic and a must have/read, I suggest you start on more pallatable reading fare.

 

Boring but as a reference to refer to whilst reading others its good to pick up and see what someone actually at the place was seeing with his own eyes.